Squeeze bottle dispensers, for example, for nasal applications, are known. These typically include a bottle with a threaded neck with an outlet opening at the end of the neck. A nozzle, having a dip tube extending from the nozzle, is press fit into the opening in the neck. A cap or cover covers the nozzle and is screwed onto the threads of the neck. Similar packages can be used for dispensing, for example, eye drops. Other bottles are adapted to pour a medicine or household product and do not include a nozzle, but can include another type of insert. In place of a cover, these dispensers or containers have a screw-on cap.
Although the squeeze bottle dispenser has a cover protecting the nozzle from contamination, the cover can easily be removed. In other words, it is not childproof. That is, it is relatively easy, by rotation, to remover the cover and dispense material. Most of the materials or medicines that are dispensed are toxic if ingested. Thus, a young child could pick up a dispenser containing a toxic material and ingest it. The danger in other types of containers such as medicine bottles and containers for household chemicals, that a child might open and ingest a harmful substance is also well known and various childproof mechanisms have been proposed for these containers.
Another type of dispenser is the spray dispenser shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,064, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This is a promotional dispensing package which is easily shipped, filled and assembled. The package includes a retaining opening into which a modular pump is snap-fit by inserting the modular pump through an open end of the package. The package also includes an upstanding wall, which provides a dispensing actuator locking and sealing mechanism, as well as a tamper-evident tab. The package and pump are assembled at a production site, and are thereafter shipped to a filling site with a bottom. The package is filled through the open bottom end, and then the bottom is sealingly affixed to the package. Accordingly, the device can be filled and finally assembled with a minimal number of steps, and is therefore particularly suited for quick-turnaround marketing. Although the package includes a dispensing actuator locking and sealing mechanism, as well as a tamper-evident tab, it is not childproof. That is, it is relatively easy, by rotation, to unlock the actuator and dispense material. In some cases the package might be used, for example, for a breath freshener and spraying in the mouth is expected. However, the package might also contain insect repellant, sun tan lotion, or another product which is toxic if ingested. Particularly in view of these multiple uses, a young child could pick up a dispenser containing a toxic material and ingest it.